Back on Track!

This is the June manga episode, and unlike Shea and Derek had been doing the past couple of shows, this month’s manga episode actually comes out on the appropriate month…on time! And on the June show, the Two Guys discuss Riyoko Ikeda’s Claudine (Seven Seas Entertainment), a shōjo narrative set in historical France. The titular figure is a trans man, feeling trapped inside of his female body. Claudine’s journey takes him through several relationships, a lot of disappointments, and frustrations on not being understood. Next, Shea and Derek discuss the first volume of Akiko Higashimura’s new series, Tokyo Tarareba Girls (Kodansha Comics). While the style of this josei series is similar to Princess Jellyfish, the focus is more mature — and even more comedic — than that of her previous series. The guys discuss both the comedy and the messaging that seems to come through the story proper, and then contrast that tone with that of the “Bonus Story” that ends this first volume.

Completion

On this episode of the monthly manga series — the April show, actually, albeit late — Shea and Derek revisit some of the titles that they had previously discussed. They talk about these series now that they have more volumes under their belts, and in some cases, have completed the entire series. The first of these that they discuss is Naoki Urasawa’s Monster (VIZ Media), a title that they first discussed in their July 2015 episode. The last volume of the English-language Perfect Editions was released in summer of 2016, and both Shea and Derek explore their experiences finishing up the series. As they reveal, Urasawa has a penchant for vast, multi-leveled narratives, filled with a wide cast of characters, and the guys discuss this style of storytelling, its thrills as well as its challenges.

Next, they turn to the completion of a story they first discussed on the September 2016 manga episode, Moto Hagio’s Otherworld Barbara(Fantagraphics). The second volume of this series was published in August of last year, and the guys revisit Hagio’s storyworld and its wrap-up. As they mentioned on their earlier episode, this is a complex, even vertiginous, narrative that involves dreamscapes, multiple narrative levels, and time interplay. Both of them appreciate Hagio’s conclusion, although at times they wonder about the story’s lapses into sentimentalism, and if the various narrative threads may not be a bit unwieldy.

Finally, the guys discuss other manga series that they’ve been keeping up with, even completing, individually. For Shea, that includes ONE and Yusuke Murata’s One-Punch Manand Yusei Matsui’s Assassination Classroom, both published by VIZ Media. Derek waxes enthusiastically about Inio Asano’s Goodnight Punpun (VIZ Media), Kengo Hanazawa’s I Am a Hero (Dark Horse Manga), and Akiko Higashimura’s Princess Jellyfish (Kodansha Comics).

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“Hip and now”

This month, Shea and Derek have a fun time discussing two recent manga releases. They begin with the first volume of Akiko Higashimura’s Princess Jellyfish (Kodansha), a series that is new to both of the guys. In fact, Derek comments that he might not have given this title a try if they hadn’t decided to discuss it for the podcast. Given the “princess” part of the book, he had wondered if this might not be too cute for him, a fluffy shojo title that may not appeal to him (while at the same time, admitting that he might be shortsighted). But as the guys discuss, Princess Jellyfish is anything but insubstantial. It’s a multi-layered story exploring friendships, gender identity, and fandom. Yet, “fandom” isn’t the right word when discussing this manga, and Shea and Derek spend a good deal of time understanding the character and behavioral nuances that Higashimura weaves into her narrative, supplemented by a useful glossary that she include in the back of the book. This is definitely a title that both of the guys will continue reading in the months to come. Next, they look at a completely different kind of manga, the first omnibus volume of Kengo Hanazawa’s I Am a Hero (Dark Horse Manga). This book has been getting a good deal of press, especially given its apparent similarity to The Walking Dead. In fact, Derek and Shea discuss the expectations surrounding I Am a Hero and how calling it “zombie manga” may be a lazy way of categorizing this series. At least in this first volume, there is much more to Hanazawa’s story that the undead rising. I Am a Hero is also a self-aware meditation on the place of manga in our culture, with the book’s protagonist, Hideo Suzuki, serving as its focalizing agent. Plus, there are many unanswered questions surrounding Hideo, non-zombie-based, that makes us question his reliability. And as Shea and Derek point out, it’s not entirely certain where Hanazawa’s sympathies actually lie regarding his hero…and that’s a good thing, at least for Derek, who appreciates ambiguity and authorial distance. Shea suspects that next volumes of the series will more firmly embed themselves in the zombie side of the story, although Derek is hoping that won’t entirely be the case. Time will tell.